


Strut into Your Heart

by Brittanica2015



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, College Student Derek, Didn't Know They Were Dating, M/M, Misunderstandings, Model Stiles, Nerd Derek Hale, Oblivious Derek, Party, Shy Derek, Sweet Stiles, Young Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:41:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brittanica2015/pseuds/Brittanica2015
Summary: Derek is a college freshman who's working as a barista in order to get enough money to satisfy his book addiction. Everything is fine until one day his favorite model, Stiles Stilinski walks in and completely changes his life.





	1. Chapter 1

Derek first started working at the _SourWolf Café_ because he was an 18 year old college freshmen in desperate need of some cash to satisfy his book addiction. The shop had been open for a few months, yet it was teeming with college students when Derek first entered for his job interview. He was slightly nervous, which made him even more quiet and broody-looking than he already was. Luckily for him, the manager, Erica aka one of the best friends he’s ever had, took a liking to his quietude; she stopped him in the middle of the interview to tell him he was hired. 

Now, a year later, he’d like to think that he talks a bit more and has a better handle on his finances. His job was never boring. The drink combinations sleep-deprived students could create were epic and a little disconcerting. Tons of cool people from campus came in every day, and he got free food while making friends. The vibe of the café was great, too. There was a rule that they could only play chill music, and a comforting scent of coffee beans permeated throughout the space. There was also a cosy feeling that surrounded him whenever he entered the café. Whether it was because of the smell of old books that came from the bookshelves lining the wall or because of the warm lighting, he couldn’t tell.

When Stiles Stilinski first started coming to the café, Derek couldn’t speak to him. It was like the butterflies he had during his job interview had returned and multiplied. His favorite model somehow managed to find the random college café where he worked. _How?_ Derek saw him standing on the other side of the counter, and his first response was to get Erica to cover the register, so he could duck into the staffroom and save himself from embarrassment. 

Stiles, surprisingly, always came in wearing a superhero t-shirt, a beanie, and skinny jeans. Not that he looked bad, but Derek was so used to seeing him made up in high end clothing on magazine covers and on his tv screen. He was gorgeous both photographed and in person, with his whiskey-colored eyes and his constellation of moles. Up close, Derek could hardly concentrate on what he was saying half the time. That paired with Stiles’ constant flirting and chatting completely scrambled Derek’s thinking for up to thirty minutes after Stiles left the café.

For a while now, Derek was able to take Stiles’ order, but he wasn’t able to say much else besides the necessary “How can I help you today?” and “That will be $5.18.” 

After months of Stiles getting a latte and a croissant from the cafe, Derek was hoping to finally be able to interact with his favorite model like a normal human being. Today would be the day he actually talked to Stiles, he could feel it. 

At 11:00 am, two hours into Derek’s shift, he walked in. The model was laughing at something someone on his phone said, but the minute he saw Derek, he said, “I’ll have to call you back. Love you.” _Ugh, of course Stiles is taken. I can’t believe I thought his flirting might be even a little bit real._ Derek was disappointed by that new bit of information, but he realized that he could probably still be friends with him.

“Hey! How’s my favorite bunny doing?” He started calling Derek that after he saw his teeth and absolutely refused to stop.

“I’m good how are you?”

“I’m great! I just got an offer to do a new shoot that I’m really excited for.” Stiles’ smile got even wider from talking about his job offer.

“Wow, who’s it with? Do you thinks it’s going to be like the spread you did for La Lune?” Derek reddened. _Fml. I just revealed that I’m a major stan. Hopefully, he still wants to talk to me._

“Aw, bunny, you’re so cute. I can’t believe you know about that, most people don’t. It’s been a few years. I’m guessing you’re a fan?” Stiles said all of this with a slight laugh in his voice. Luckily, he didn’t seem too creeped out.

The conversation continued like that, and since there were, uncharacteristically, no people lined up for a drink, they were able to talk for a while. Derek very quickly forgot that he was talking to his idol and was able to get rid of his nerves. It felt like he was talking to a longtime friend, not someone other people would die to just catch a glimpse of. 

“I think this is the most you’ve ever said to me.” Stiles’ tone was teasing, and Derek could only smile and shrug in response. Stiles’ phone pinged.

“Can I get your number to continue this conversation later? I have to go meet up with a friend right now, but I’ll definitely text you tonight.” Derek handed his phone over without hesitation. Stiles put in his number and sent a text to himself so he would have Derek’s number, and then he gave the phone back to its owner.

“Later, babe,” Stiles said with a wave. It was a typical goodbye, but to Derek it sounded like a promise.

“Bye.” Derek’s response was a whisper as the reality of what just happened hit him. Heartthrob Stiles Stilinski thought he was interesting enough to actually want to start texting him… _He held a whole conversation with his celebrity crush without making a fool of himself. How was this his life?_


	2. Chapter 2

It has been a few months since Derek and Stiles exchanged numbers, and Stiles seemed to always want to be near Derek, which was weird considering how much he seemed to like this guy named Scott; Stiles got a fond smile on his face whenever he talked about him. 

The younger man was happy that his crush was in a good relationship, but it hurt whenever he mentioned Scott. The constant reminder that he would never be more than a friend to Stiles made it hard to actually be friends.

Whenever they weren’t together, they were texting each other. This was no small feat for Derek, who as a English major, constantly had readings and essays to do. This was no small feat for Stiles either, considering it always seemed like the model was also working whenever he wasn’t in Derek’s presence. How Stiles also made room for his boyfriend, Scott, on top of everything else, was a mystery to him.

One day, after Derek’s final and most difficult exam, Derek exited the exam building with his head swimming from all the math equations he’d just solved. He felt the beginnings of a headache emerging and had intense bedhead from not having the energy to run a comb through his hair. He also had dark bags under his eyes that would take a while to disappear. The student couldn’t wait to collapse on his bed and sleep for 20+ hours. He was shocked out his daze when a cold hand came up over his eyes and a deep, husky voice whispered, “Hey, sexy. Guess who?”

Derek immediately grabbed the hand and spun around, glare already set on his face. His glare softened when he caught sight of a laughing, mole splattered face.

“Hey! Seriously?! You almost gave me a heartattack.”

“I wanted to surprise you! You did say that you had a really hard exam today.” His smile was slowly fading from his face, and he was starting to actually look a little nervous. 

“That’s actually really sweet of you…” Derek was too shocked to mask the surprise in his voice.

“Well...you know me. I just want to make you feel better. I had this whole plan and everything.”

For a while, Derek just stared with a small smile on his face. Stiles started smiling as well, once he realized that Derek was no longer annoyed with him.

“So, do you want to go out with me?” Derek, for a second, thought that Stiles was asking him out and was overjoyed, then he came back to his senses, and realized that Stiles meant as friends. “Sure.” Derek probably didn't sound as happy as he should have, but who could blame him.

Stiles led the barista to a small diner. On the way there, neither of them spoke, content to admire their surroundings. A light dusting of snow from the day before covered the tree branches and the ground, but Derek didn't feel any of the cold as his hand occasionally brushed against Stiles’.

They stopped in front of a small diner with a sign that declared “Mama’s Kitchen.” It was trapped between a Starbucks and a Three Guys, making it hard to notice if you weren’t looking for it. 

Once the pair entered the diner, they were seated immediately. The waiter’s bright smile when he saw Stiles unsettled Derek, but he said nothing. Once escorted to their table, Stiles and Derek took off their coats and sat down. The waiter handed them their menus and said, “Hi, my name is Kyle, and I’ll be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink?”

Stiles exclaimed, “Oh my God! Kyle? I didn’t recognize you. How have you been?” 

Kyle’s fake waiter smile was replaced by a genuine one, but Derek was too busy wondering how the waitstaff was so close to his crush to notice and become jealous. How would someone so famous even find out about such a hole in the wall, much less know the workers of the diner on such a personal level. He tuned back into the conversation when he heard his name.

“This is Derek. I wanted to cheer him up because he just had exams.”

“Oh, this is Derek. You should have said that sooner.” Kyle’s tone confused Derek, as it made it seem like he’d heard of him before, which was unlikely. Derek gave Stiles, who had turned bright red for some reason, a confused look. 

“Yeah, I’m Derek. You’ve heard of me before?” Derek was slightly creeped out.

“Of course, Stiles talks about you all the time.”

“Well, we’re pretty good friends, so it would make sense that he does that.” Derek was kind of flattered. Stiles must think they’re pretty close, if he talks about him with waiters at a restaurant regularly. 

“I can see that. I think I have to go now and wait on other tables, but before I go, can I get your drink orders.” Stiles ordered a milkshake, and Derek ordered one too at the paler man’s behest.

“I was great talking to you. I’ll have your drinks out in a minute.” Kyle left, giving the diners a knowing look.

“How do you know all the waiters here?” Derek finally asked the question he’d had since stepping foot in the diner.

“Well, when I first came to the city for school, I was pretty lonely. I come from a small town where I knew everyone, and we were like family. Then when I moved to the city, all of that changed. I didn’t know anyone, and I had no one to look out for me. It seemed like everyone at school already had their own friends and didn’t want to make new ones. Whenever I wasn’t in class or studying, I would try out different restaurants to fill my time. One day, I found this restaurant, and I sat down, and suddenly Susie, the owner, sat down and said she wanted to get to know me since I looked so sad and lost. After that, I just kept on coming back. It felt like home.” The way Stiles described his time as a student made Derek feel sad and a little homesick, even though he saw them once a week and the drive to visit them was only an hour and a half. He had had no idea that Stiles experienced that type of hardship, but him opening up about it endeared the celebrity even more to Derek.

“Anyway, it’s been awhile since I’ve been in college, but I remember coming hear after hard tests and feeling better after having a milkshake and talking to the workers. I wanted to share that with you.” Stiles gazed at him with a small smile, looking at him from under his eyelashes, as if shy, yet earnest. 

Derek stared back, honored and slightly surprised. Stiles is sharing a part of himself that barely anyone gets to see. I wonder what I did to make him trust me like this. 

“Thanks, Stiles, you have no idea how much this means to me.” What Derek wanted to say was “you have no idea how much you mean to me,” but he thought it was a little too soon in their relationship for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next part!


	3. Chapter 3

After Stiles’ thoughtful gesture, he and the college student spent more time together. There was an outing to the movies, which they mainly went to to laugh at the lacking plot and one-dimensional characters. Honestly, it was worse than Sharknado. They often went out to eat when Derek finished his classes, and Stiles was done with a shoot. One of their more memorable hangouts was when Stiles took Derek on a surprise picnic in Central Park, complete with sandwiches, strawberries, coffee, and Stiles’ husky, which made Derek’s Day. 

Stiles even made it a point to introduce Derek to everyone he was close to. Derek immediately bonded with John Stilinski and Lydia over baseball and Latin texts, respectively. He didn’t really get along with Jackson or Danny: Jackson because he was an asshole who Stiles only liked half the time anyway, and Danny because he openly flirted with Derek, which for some reason, always annoyed Stiles. Derek’s first time meeting Scott left him with conflicting feelings; he wanted to not like Scott because he was dating his crush, but when he saw them interact with each other in person, he couldn’t. They seemed to really care about each other, and Stiles seemed to only need to look at Scott in order to communicate with him. They were obviously really close.

In early May after Derek’s shift, Stiles met up with him, prefacing their meeting by saying that he had to ask Derek about something. Derek was slightly nervous, given how uncharacteristically nervous Stiles sounded on the phone that morning. He was in the middle of taking off his apron when he saw Stiles walk through the door in his signature Marvel tee and ripped jeans; he was also wearing his glasses, which Derek didn’t know Stiles needed until a few weeks ago, when Stiles mentioned how irritating his contacts were. Derek suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach, wondering what the paler man could possibly want to talk to him so urgently about.

He motioned for Stiles to walk outside, so he could could meet him out there. Derek pasted a forced smile on his face and walked out. 

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I just realized that I probably sounded pretty cryptic on the phone and I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to come across that way, it’s just tha-” Derek knew he had to interject before Stiles kept on going and made himself have a panic attack.

“Stiles! It’s ok. What did you want to talk to me about?”

After a beat, he said, “It’s nothing bad. I just want to ask you to come to a party with me in two weeks. It’s ok if you don’t. I don’t want you to feel like you have to or anything.”

“No, I’d be happy to go with you. What’s the party for?”

“Nothing big. Just celebrating a photoshoot I just did with some other models, photographers, and magazine editors.”

“That sounds kind of important...Are you sure you want to bring me?” Derek was a little surprised that Stiles was asking him and not Scott. _Maybe Scott’s too busy to go and I’m Stiles’ backup?_

“Of course, who else would I bring?” Stiles sounded sincere, but he was probably just laying it on thick so he would not have to attend the party alone. “I know it may sound kind of intimidating, but don’t be nervous.”

“No, don’t worry, I haven’t changed my mind.” 

Stiles responded with a fistbump and an enthusiastic, “Yes! You won’t regret it. We’re going to have so much fun. Trust me.”

Two weeks passed fairly quickly, with Derek worrying the entire time. When Friday night arrived, the student sat on his couch wearing a green Henley, which, according to his sister, brought out the green in his eyes, and some dark jeans that showed off his butt. He had face timed Laura asking what to wear a few hours ago; her initial response was to laugh at his misfortune, but when she was done with that, she helped him pick out a nice outfit and style his hair in an artfully disheveled way.

Derek’s hair went from purposefully messy to being messy due to him running his hand through it as the time between getting ready and Stiles ringing his doorbell wore on. He jumped out of his seat when the bell rang. Seeing Stiles in his doorway actually made him less nervous, since the model looked as unsure as the younger man felt. His face had a slight flush to it, and he was running a hand up and down the nape of his neck.

“Hey,” the older man’s voice was a whisper, “You look great.”

“You look good, too.” Derek’s tone matched Stiles’. “You probably get complimented all the time, but I mean it.”

“I do get a lot of compliments about my looks, but it means more coming from you.” After completely altering Derek’s world view and his self-esteem, Stiles led him to his beat-up, blue jeep like nothing even happened. 

The ride to the party was filled with one of the top 40 hits emanating from the radio and a comfortable silence between the two young men. The ride only lasted about ten minutes due to an unusual lack of red lights along the way. When they arrived outside _The Jungle_ , the club where the party was being held, the car was surrounded by paparazzi.

The friends’ ears were assaulted by the shouts.

“What are you wearing?” _flash_

“Stiles! Stiles! Who are you with?” _flash_

“Where have you been these past few months?” _flash_

Stiles’ response to this was to wind his arm tightly around Derek’s waist and try to lead them to the entrance as he repeated “No comment.” about twenty times with a polite smile on his face.

“What happened to Mr. McCall” _flash_

“I guess you do jump from one guy to the next!” flash

The last two comments seemed to really get to Stiles because his expression immediately darkened and he pushed a little bit more forcefully against the crowd. When it seemed clear that the paparazzi weren’t going to leave without having at least one comment from the model, he relented and proclaimed “My date’s name is Derek, and he’s my boyfriend.”

His comment stunned both the crowd and Derek and allowed the celebrity to easily enter the building. Once inside the building with their jackets checked, Derek regained his bearing enough to pull Stiles by his arm into an empty room.

“What was that?!” Derek felt a jumble of emotions: confusion, anger, hurt, embarrassment.

“I know, I’m sorry I had to reveal it like that without even discussing it with you, but they were making me angry and saying things that weren’t even tru-”

“Shut up Stiles!” Derek usually found Stiles’ rambling cute, but right now, it was beyond infuriating. “Why would you even tell them that?!”

“I’m sorry! I just panicked!”

“So you tell them we’re dating? Who does that?”

“I already told you I’m sorry, and I really am. You probably aren't ready to face the pressure that comes with dating a famous person, and I wish I could take back what I said, but it’s too late for that. Just look on the bright side, at least we don’t have to hide our relationship anymore.” Stiles seemed like he was on the verge of tears, and his tone had become panicked and desperate. He’d also gone pale sometime during the argument.

Now, Derek was even more confused than he was before. His silence only served to spur Stiles on, “Please don’t have second thoughts about our relationship.” Stiles was begging now, and the tears in his eyes were now falling down his face.

“What relationship? You mean our friendship. You’re dating Scott. How could you hurt him like that by saying that someone else is your boyfriend?” Now they both looked confused.

“I’m not dating Scott,” Stiles said slowly, “I’m dating you. But if you want to act like what we had together was nothing, then go ahead. I can’t believe you’re just going to give up on _us_.” Stiles sounded defeated.

“I’m totally confused. We’re not dating, we’re _friends_. You never even asked me out.” Derek turned around and braced his hands and against the table behind him in frustration, then he just as quickly turned back around, looking annoyed.

After Derek’s admission, the model looked hopeful. “Derek, we’re dating. What do you think all those times we went out we’re for. We’ve been on like 10 dates. The movies. The picnic. The dinner. Meeting all of my friends. Those were dates.”

“No, don’t you do those things with all of your friends.”

“You really think I plan extravagant picnics for all of my friends?” There was now a bit of amusement in his tone and some more color to his face.

“Well...what about how you act around Scott? Normal friends don’t act like that.”

“ _Scotty_ is just a friend that I’ve known since I was 5. You know I’m a tactile person. After I first met you, I hugged you all the time.”

By now, they both seemed a little relieved and a lot less confused. Amused smiles appeared on their faces. A moment later, Stiles let out a tired sounding laugh that Derek echoed. 

Derek chuckled, “I guess we both were wrong.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t know we were dating. How could you not notice all of my wooing?”

“Well, sorry, for not immediately considering that a famous model might want to go out with me. What made you like someone as plain as me anyway?”

“Well, first of all, you’re not plain,” Stiles emphasized this statement by poking the nineteen year old in the chest with his index finger, “And I started appreciating all the little things about you the minute I surprised you after your exam and saw you so worn and tired. I just wanted to immediately tuck you into bed in that moment and cuddle with you, but I thought you would appreciate a little pickmeup, so I didn’t.”

Derek admitted in return, “I’ve had a crush on you starting day one-” 

“Yeah, I could tell.”

“But, I really started to appreciate you after we started hanging out more, and I realized that you were an actual person, with feelings, and fears, and opinions. When you argued with me for an hour about the merits of classics, I knew I was hooked. I just didn’t say anything because you still seemed unattainable, even now, I don’t really believe this is real.

“Well, believe it ‘cause you’re one of my most favorite people in the entire world and I don’t know what I would do without you. You broke my heart when you questioned our relationship earlier. Just know that you’re really important to me.” Stiles was slowly walking towards Derek, and by the time he got to the middle of his spiel, he was face to face with the dark haired man. The model reached out with both of his hands to cup the younger man’s face and leaned forward to kiss him on both cheeks, then, he pressed his lips to the other’s.

Derek blushed and smiled, showing Stiles’ favorite feature of his, his teeth. What he said next was a whisper, “You’re really important to me, too.”

The couple knew that they really meant to say I love you, but both thought it was to soon to say those three little words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! I wish I fleshed out the plot a bit more looking back on this story, but for now I think it's ok. Also tell me if there are any errors or if something just blatantly doesn't make sense.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
> I'm thinking about adding a super short epilogue so watch out for that. Thanks for reading :) you guys are great

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing for this fandom. Tell me how I did! I’m trying to write more involved stories, and I’m pretty happy with this one, though I think I could’ve fleshed out the plot a little more. I have most of it written, and I'm just editing now, but I couldn't wait to post this part. The rest will be up by next week.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this! Leave a kudos and a comment :)
> 
>  
> 
> This is also very very loosely inspired by Aitheros, which is also the first fanfic I ever commented on. I recommend you read that story because it's really intense and still one of my favorites.


End file.
